Although the sky was blue and the sun shining brightly, a frigid north wind blew away our planned walk. Amongst the trees and heritage houses of Inglewood, we found more sheltered pathways.
The slushy shallows of the Bow River hundreds of Canada Geese. At first, there seemed to be only a few by the shore. Gradually my eyes saw that the napping ones blended invisibly into the stone strewn shorelin Read on...
I am back from another great weekend exploring the country side. This time I went to the south to two different national parks. The drive was longer this time at 6 hours and through lots of small villages. The road is paved, however every time you get close to a village there are multiple kinds of speed bumps. First there are what I can best describe as small speed bumps that make the car vibrate, Read on...
What a treat to be able to visit virtually the Faberge Museum with Anna in St.Petersburg The collection is made up of over 4000 display items which represent the many different items created by the House of Faberg.
Anna gave detailed information on many of the items with the main focus on the Imperial Eggs all so beautifully displayed.
The First Hen egg (Given by Tsar Alexander III to his wife i Read on...
On Friday morning we set off for a tour in the jungle around Mount Kinabalu. The mountain is, with an altitude of over 4,000 metres, the tallest mountain in Borneo. It is surrounded by jungle, and one can take various tours. Amongst them is a tour up the mountain. On day two, one can watch the sunrise from the peak of the mountain. However, Mizzi and I had deliberately decided against it. We bo Read on...
Our last day, so sad. We got up early so that we could do the 3 hour drive to Dortmund. Dennis had bought us tickets to the soccer game. Dortmund is supposed to be the 2ndbest team in Germany and tickets are typically impossible by BUT, with Covid and the requirement of a vaccine passport to enter, tickets were available.
We got to Dortmund way before the game so we ventured into town to visit th Read on...
My third overseas teaching job was at St Andrews School (Escuela San Andres) in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I found the school very stressful and decided to leave after two years. Before leaving, I was asked to write something for the school magazine, Carpe Diem. Here is what I wrote:
I have had this conversation with many students recently. They are curious to know why I am leaving the school after Read on...
One of the positives to the UK during the summer months was to be the fact that we would be escaping the heat in Turkey. Well, there was quite a heat wave happening in the southern part of the UK so luckily our for cat sitting was farther north in Aberdeen, Scotland. We had heard that some of the trains werent running due to the heat of the tracks, but again, our luck was holding out and nothing i Read on...
The day started as regularly. Breakfast was very decent and the sky was looking to rain. Although we started out riding dry, the rain came quite quickly. Fortunately, the rain did not last. Little weather problems for the rest of the day.
Some decisions were made to shorten our ride. Instead of biking around the bay close to Setubal, we decided to take a ferry, shortening the ride significantly. Read on...
Bankhead is a ghost town which flanks Cascade Mountain and lies just south of Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park.
The Canadian Anthracite Company was the first to open a Cascade Mountain coal mine in Anthracite, Banff in 1886. The difficult slanted coal seams within Cascade Mountain led miners below the water table, causing water to flood into the mine. The Anthracite coal mine ceased operati Read on...
Most of us who are stuck in urban areas really do not get to enjoy a vast sky full of stars. Growing up out in the country, we took the star filled skies for granted. Now, it appears that special places are better for stargazers. And some are quite spectacular. Do you remember laying on the lawn in your yard, and staring up at the sky when you were a kid? Definition of a stargazer: a person who st Read on...